This version corrects the headline and correctly locates the slide on Maury Island, not the south end of Vashon.

Late last month a steep stretch of hillside gave way on Luana Beach Road, and authorities are taking steps to ensure they are ready if it worsens.

Current indications are the slope has stabilized, but last week representatives from Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR), Vashon’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team, King County Roads and a nearby homeowner met to create a “pre-response plan,” according to VIFR fire chief Hank Lipe.

Included in the plan are assessments of the slide’s magnitude, identification of possible risks to life and property and communication and action  plans in case of further deterioration, Lipe said.

Rick Wallace, who heads the EOC team, viewed the slide from a King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter last week as part of the effort and noted that the scientific name for this type of slide is a “slope-related groundwater blowout.” He added what is clear to many: This has been the wettest winter on record in the Seattle area.

“That ups the need to think about this,” he said.

King County Roads engineer Rick Brater said that even though the slide appears stable, the county will conduct soil boring tests to get a better idea of what is going on there.

Luana Beach Road has been closed since Feb. 20 and will likely remain closed for at least another month, he added.

Wallace noted that the road is closed out of an abundance of caution and to avoid vibration there.

In such a wet winter, slides are not unusual on Vashon; additional smaller slides this year have occurred on Cunliffe Road, Gorsuch Road and the Westside Highway.